Here’s How the Business Impact of Creative Work is Defined

March 11, 2020

InSource Creative Biz Impact Measurement Mar2020With creative being the strategic service most likely to be moved in-house, more than 7 in 10 (72% of) creatives say that their in-house team handles more than three-quarters of their business’ creative needs. With such a hefty chunk of creative responsibility under their purview, how is the work of in-house creatives perceived when it comes to driving business objectives? The latest report [download page] from inMotionNow and InSource looks at just that, as well as the challenges creatives are facing this year.

In a survey of more than 600 individuals that work in creative (more than 70% of respondents) and marketing roles, 9 in 10 (89%) say that creative work is important for driving business objectives and 87% feel that they are getting at least the same or more credit for organizational results than they did last year.

When it comes to defining the impact of creative work, the majority of organizations are using metrics such as brand recognition (56%) and engagement (opens, clicks, form fills, etc. – 51%).

To a lesser extent, some are linking their definitions to ROI based on revenue tied to the work (31%) and lead generation (31%). But of some concern, more than two-fifths (43%) of respondents report that business impact has not been clearly defined for their creative team at all.

Moreover, more than half (55%) of creatives say they rarely or never receive quantitative feedback on the performance of creative content, more than three times the share (17%) who say they almost always or often get such feedback.

Challenges Faced By Creative

Although creatives say their teams are getting more credit for their organizations’ results, almost two-thirds (63%) say that being seen as a strategic contributor to their organizations’ goals is a top challenge they’re facing.

But this is far from the only challenge creatives are facing. Two other significant challenges identified in the report are the speed at which creative teams are expected to work (77%) and the volume of demand for creative (72%). Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be much of a change in perception on these challenges from last year, when a similar study by inMotionNow and InSource also found speed and volume to be the biggest challenges for creatives.

The good news is that creative teams have seen improvements from last year in the speed of final approvals for projects and proofs. Per the report, 83% of creative projects are approved within 5 rounds of review (up from 77% in 2019), while more than three-quarters (78%) of proofs are approved within one week (up from 65% last year). These improvements are dampened somewhat with the news that nearly half (47%) of creatives spend a full day a week on administrative tasks, which has not changed much from last year (48%).

Other challenges include the increasing variety of marketing channels that need creative (55%), communicating with clients and meeting expectations (32%), and new technologies that change the way teams work (31%). Retaining and supporting creative staff is a challenge for 29% of the creatives surveyed, which is understandable considering attracting top-notch talent is a concern for in-house agencies.

The full report can be downloaded here.

About the Data: Findings are based on a survey of more than 600 respondents that work in creative (more than 70%) and marketing roles at companies of varying sizes.

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